Penn State’s thrilling 13-10 victory Saturday over Rutgers wasn’t only a classic on the field, it topped New York and Philadelphia television markets as well.

According to the Big Ten Network, the game was the most watched contest of the weekend in both the New York and Philadelphia markets:

“Saturday night’s thriller between budding rivals Penn State and Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J., was the highest-rated college football game that day in the New York and Philadelphia DMAs, according to Nielsen LPM Overnights. The game, which Penn State won 13-10 in the waning seconds, earned a 4.4 rating in Philadelphia.”

That’s pretty good, especially for a non-major network. Notre Dame against Purdue, for example, clocked a 1.7 in the New York area. In Philadelphia, the second highest rated game was Georgia at South Carolina, at 2.7.

The BTN put in big money for this game, bringing an entire studio set to Rutgers for pre-game, halftime and post-game coverage. It seems like it paid off.

With massive alumni bases in the New York area, and Rutgers playing its first Big Ten game in primetime, its no surprise people tuned it. The Big Ten’s not-so-secret endgame in adding both Maryland and Rutgers to the conference was to tap into the viewing markets of New York and Washington, D.C. Hopefully, this previously untapped market for Big Ten football will continue to prove fruitful for the conference, as well as its schools.

About the Author

Ben Berkman

State College, PA

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